Xbox manager Scott Henson to head up Rare

Microsoft has announced the immediate appointment of a new studio manager for its wholly owned, UK-based developer, Rare. Scott Henson, who has been involved with the Xbox brand since before the original black behemoth launched in 2001, will relocate from the US to Birmingham within the coming weeks.

Henson has been part of Microsoft's Xbox endeavor in numerous roles, including product unit manager for the game technology group (where he contributed to the XNA development initiative), director of platform strategy for the Xbox 360 (back when the Xbox dashboard looked like this) and Xbox group manager. "The timing is actually perfect," Henson told MCV. "I've worked on Xbox since before the original Xbox. I helped bring Xbox Live to life, which has reached millions of people. Rare over the last 25 years is the same story."

Rare's reach will become a major talking point on November 4, when Microsoft's Kinect launches in North America (Nov. 10 in Europe) and the company's casual-oriented games hope to find a new audience.